


The Guardian of the Incorporeal

by EmeraldOnix7



Series: Ghost Link BotW AU [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: AU, Always There, Calamity Ganon is there, Can be read as LinkxMipha but I really meant it to be that they were really close friends, Everyone Else is Alive, Gen, Link can't control his Guardian, Link has a flashback where he dies, Link is dead, Memory Loss, Mipha was a close childhood friend, No real ship, Originally Posted on the Zelda Amino, Purah is mentioned and is there for one line, but it isn't graphic at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-23 22:09:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19159954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldOnix7/pseuds/EmeraldOnix7
Summary: A lonely Link, trapped by the power he received after death, reflects on the worst failures as a Guardian makes its rounds through a forgotten temple. Then his friends show up to fix every bad thing that's plagued his afterlife.This is a BotW Au where Link dies instead of the other Champions and he is able to take control of the Guardians after they're destroyed and ends up trapped in one.





	The Guardian of the Incorporeal

**Author's Note:**

> Uh... hiya! So this was originally posted on the Zelda amino, but I'm moving it over here and maybe FF.net. I don't know if I'll do anything with it after this, but I did like this story at the time of writing it. 
> 
> There might be some grammatical errors here and there, but I did try my hardest to fix them before posting them. I had this awful phone that was really slow with typing and autocorrecting, so some phrases might seem weird. 
> 
> This is, of course, an AU where Link dies instead of the other guardians. I'm fairly certain this has probably been done before, but I wanted to give Link a power after death. Technically, his spirit can possess a decent number of Sheikah-based technology because of his "spirit of the hero" thing, but Guardians are by far the most destructive. 
> 
> I don't know how they managed to fit all of the other champions in the Shrine of Resurrection, but they did.
> 
> Other than that, hope you enjoy!

* * *

 

Link's journey had ended long ago. 100 years ago to be precise. Though, not in the way anyone would have preferred. He sighed, yet Link's voice didn't carry through the dusty Forgotten Temple.

A little over 90 years Link's soul had been trapped in the dark, musky death trap of a temple. The only thing to show for it? Well, he had memorized how many bricks there were in the room with the Goddess Statue. He knew just how many guardian stalkers there were in the room before it. Link knew how many ridges were on each column. To make details very plain, he could likely recreate the temple completely.

Yet Link could not leave. He tried many times to pry his soul away from his mechanical prison, yet to no avail. Calamity Ganon's malice had a hold on him and it wasn't letting him go.

90 years trapped in a temple could do a number on anyone's psyche. He tried frequently to pinpoint small details of the horrid building, something to distract him for a short time. Yet after the first 50 years, he had run out of small details to pinpoint.

Now as the Guardian Stalker he was trapped in made its rounds, his mind drifted to that day. To the day of Link's demise. It was the worst failure of his life.

 

* * *

 

He remembered his death well. He was protecting the princess and he eventually collapsed. It wasn't sudden. The wear and tear of battle drained him, so he slept. It wasn't until he saw Princess Zelda hunched over a body, his body when he figured out what happened.

Link had died, and Zelda figured out her sacred power. In that moment of panic and confusion, he reached out to comfort Zelda. To congratulate her for unlocking her power, but he reached too far. He grabbed hold of a large deactivated Guardian. One that had seen the full force of Zelda's power.

In a flash, the mechanical menace stirred. The spider-like legs stretched out before it, prompting a shriek from the princess. Although something was off. The other Guardians had a light that was pink with a blue tint. This one, however, looked to have a blue-green light emanating throughout it.

Link realized he was in control. He could use the source of his death against Ganon. First, he had to calm Zelda down. The blue light intensified as he formulated a plan, but then he heard a shriek coming directly below him. It was Zelda who was shrieking at him like that, holding her hand up towards the machine he had taken. He paused and moved one of the arms up cautiously, then waved.

Confused, the girl took a step back, crossing over Link's body. "Are you...?" She pursed her lips together and examined the machine, at a loss of what to say next.

Truthfully, Link didn't exactly know where she was heading with that question either. He slowly pointed to his body.

Zelda responded to that gesture with a huff. "Yes yes. He's dead. Is that it? Are you gloating?" Tears pooled to her eyes. "If that's the case, I'm not going easy on you. Another blast and you'll be history."

Oh. She drew the wrong conclusions. Big time. Link grumbled as he tried to get the arms to do something else. He pointed to the Guardian he was piloting then back at his body. He did it a few times in a more rapid fashion.

Suddenly, something seemed to click in Zelda's head. She lowered her hand, though she still made sure to keep direct eye contact on Link’s Guardian form. "Are you Link? Did you take hold of that beast?"

He couldn't exactly nod in this form. Instead, he held closed a few of the fingers on the Guardian and pointed up. He hoped she would get the message.

The princess, sharp as a tack, seemed to get what he was trying to accomplish. " In all my studies, I haven't seen this kind of response. If it is Link in there, I implore you. Please help the other Champions. I have a terrible feeling about this, about them."

But that was where this memory ended. He remembered little after that seeing as he rushed to the other Champions. The only other things he remembered from that tragic day were the state of the others. Each one of the champions had burns and had taken a fair bit of damage in their rush to their beasts.

 

_Revali had been shot out of the sky._

_Urbosa was surrounded by Yiga from all sides._

_Daruk had been just inches from his weapon with an angry Lynel charging directly at him_

_And then there was Mipha. Sweet, Sweet Mipha. She laid there, stunned from an electric arrow aimed near a puddle. With another arrow aimed her way._

 

With Link's new abilities, he was able to take out wave after wave of enemies. He wasn't going to lie, it was exhilarating. With his actions, he bought the four time. There was enough time for some Sheikah to come along and rush them to the Shrine of Resurrection.

 

* * *

 

 

The fun stopped around ten years after that day. That day marked the worst failure of his death, a milestone that he never thought would be possible.

Link had taken to hanging around Hateno Village where he helped Purah deal with waves of enemies. Mostly bokoblins, he noticed. Though there was the occasional Guardian Stalker or group of lizalfos that needed to be taken out before they got too close to the village.

Although Zelda had let Purah know about Link's newfound power, they had yet to really test what he could do with it. Not that Purah didn't try to coax the ghost into seeing what he could do. There were numerous attempts to get him to possess random objects or questions on whether he could feel things as a ghost.

 

" _No Purah, I can't feel you sticking your arm through my head_ ," he once said.

 

Other than that, the arrangement worked really well. He essentially became the protector of the village as Purah and the other scientists worked tirelessly to figure out a way to get rid of Calamity Ganon for good. Then one day, around ten years later, Link stuck himself in the Guardian Stalker that he normally used and found that his control over the machine had been weakened. 

It was alarming, yes. He was worried, yes. But he also couldn't do anything about it. As Link tried to exit the machine, he saw a pink ooze surge through the crack of his machine. This malic blocked his way out. Link's chest tightened. As he reached out to the malic, he could feel his essence being drained. There was no hope for escape. A frightening thought made his way through his panicked mind. 

 

Calamity Ganon had once again taken him away from those he loved. 

 

"What's wrong, Link?" Purah asked. She had come to check on him, it seemed. Either that or she was hoping to do some sort of experiment on him. It was hard to tell at this point. 

He couldn't verbalize it, but he pointed to the machine with one of its mechanical legs. It was getting harder to move them, he realized with fright. With no time to explain, he pushed his machine to move, startling Purah as he ran. 

Oh Link's adventures with Zelda, he had been to nearly every corner of Hyrule. Link searched his memories for a spot where everyone would be safe from him. Mountains posed a risk of him tumbling down. Hyrule Field scared him. The Gerudo Desert wasn't as deserted as one might think. Finally, he figured out a place. He remembered a place to the northwest of Hyrule, a canyon that parted the Hebra region from the rest of Hyrule. It was steep and deep. He likely didn't have to worry about his prison (And he did realize the machine would be his prison.) finding anyone. 

So he made his way there. A diagonal line was the quickest way, but he still avoided Guardian Stalkers like the plague. He didn't know how much of him the machines could sense or if they could sense him. He realized later on that he would have been freed of his problems had he been attacked by the other Guardians, but it had been too late by that point.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally found the canyon he figured that he'd spend eternity in. It was getting harder and harder to move, but he still made his way down carefully. This was mistake number three. As he settled into the doorway of a temple he hadn't known was there, Calamity Ganon finally claimed the machine as his own.  
  
Link was trapped now, and there was likely nobody who would come this far out. But that was fine with him. If Link could protect even a single person from his machine, he would

 

* * *

 

Link reemerged from his memories. The Guardian had almost completed its loop. All it had to do was go outside. This was the one thing that changed from time to time. Link had to admit, this was his favorite part of being held hostage.

When he was alive, Link never stopped to appreciate how beautiful nature could be. He never appreciated the sounds of crickets rustling in the grass, nor the songs of birds calling from the trees. It was beautiful. It was different.

It was a miracle.

Link remained still in his metal suit, not resisting as the Guardian scanned the area for life. Already, he could feel his spirits lift. It was fine. Everything was fine. He could stay down there forever if he needed to if only so he could protect this view. One less Guardian to deal with, and in a remote area too. It wasn't likely that anyone... would... travel... here.

Just above the cliff's ledge, he could see a familiar four gazing into the valley. His friends, the Champions of old. Relics from 100 years ago.

Link had to be hallucinating. He knew they weren't dead, but why come here?

"So that's the Guardian, eh?" The voice was arrogant and assertive as if he were the leader of the merry band. Link would have laughed if he could. Revali’s pompous tone didn't vanish after 100 years, it seemed. The blue bird, picking at the string of his bow, gazed over Link and the accursed metal body he was stuck in. "It's covered with malice. But why?"

"I dunno, but we just have to get rid of it right? And we'll be done with solving Purah's problems." The next voice spoke up. This deep but friendly voice so clearly belonged to Daruk. He twirled his giant sword around in his giant hand and frowned. "But it's all the way down there. How do we get you two down?" He stared away from the cliff, his eyes following a form that slowly made its way to the edge.

"I say Mipha and I stay up here. I'll use my power on it. Daruk should go down there and try to draw its attention. We have a hang glider if Mipha or I need to get down there." This voice, fierce, to the point, yet incredibly caring belonged to his friend Urbosa.

Finally, the last person stepped to the edge with a sad smile plastered on her face. "If you guys get hurt, please do not hesitate to call on me. I'll try to help out with my bow. I'm nothing like how Revali is though." This voice, soft, shy, and kind belonged to his best friend of the four of them. Mipha, his precious childhood friend.

“Not to worry Mipha. Nobody could keep up with me at the bow.” Revali chuckled as he swept his wing through his feathers.

With their plan all set, Revali and Daruk dove off the cliff. Revali spread his wings and caught the wind, flying high above the Guardian's head. Then there was a loud thud as Daruk hit the ground, his protective barrier absorbing all of the recoil.

Already there was enough commotion for the Guardian to take notice. The lights changed from blue to pink as evil powers ran through it. Using a red light as its guide, the Guardian Stalker focused its attention on Daruk.

The Goron laughed heartily as the Guardian focused on him. "You're not gonna take down this Goron today, bacon breath."

He must have been speaking to Ganon directly with that. It was then that Link realized that he didn't know if Calamity Ganon was really watching through this Guardian. Even if he wasn’t, the malice that surged through the machine made him feel as if he was.

More importantly, this entire situation made him uncomfortable. Though the Guardian's actions were out of his control, he felt as if he were the ones attacking them, and vice versa.

 

_No._

 

_Nononononono No!_

He couldn't do this. He shouldn't. He wouldn't!

With all his might, he fought against the machine's control. If he could give them just a little opening, the four of them could take this thing out easily. Despite all his struggling and panicking, nothing happened.

The Guardian charged forward, its gaze completely focused on Daruk. It beeped, signaling that the beam had been charged up. Using this audio cue as a guide, Daruk pulled up a metal shield that had been attached to his arm using chu jelly. This action seemed to be a defensive measure, but judging by his face, he knew it was unnecessary.

From the sky, Revali had finally found a place he could shoot his arrows. He set a few in his bowstring and fired. The arrows whizzed through the air, hitting the Guardian directly into the eyes.

The Guardian was temporarily stunned, for now. In this brief moment of vulnerability, Daruk swung himself around like a top. Urbosa snapped several bolts of lightning down on the Guardian. Mipha and Revali shot at the Guardian using a Zora bow and a Swallow bow respectively.

Truly, this was what their teamwork should have been to begin with. No bickering. No attitudes. They were a team.

At four against one, the Guardian didn't stand a chance. There was a snap and mechanical whirring as the machine tried to continue working. The extended time did not help in the end. The mechanic noises came to a sudden halt, and the Guardian collapsed.

Finally, Link could feel relieved. His nightmare was over, though he had a stray thought that it was all a hallucination from Calamity Ganon and that it would be taken from him in an instant, but that instant never came. 

Urbosa scaled down the mountain and Mipha used the hang-glider to float down. The four of them gathered around the broken hunk of junk that had held Link hostage for so long.

"Was that it?" Revali asked with a frown. He side-eyed the robot and set his bow back on his back. "Hardly worth the arrows I shot at it." He said with a huff. “Ah well. I suppose we could always use the parts.” He knelt down to try and take a look at the broken machine.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. There was a reason Purah asked us to track down this specific Guardian." Urbosa placed a hand on her hip and pressed her hand to her face.  
  


Wait... Purah was still alive? That little detail made Link smile. 

  
Daruk poked at the Guardian. In doing so, he loosened a few screws. "Maybe it was that weird malice goo stuff?" He said, unsure. 

"Perhaps Purah can explain," Mipha said softly. She studied the Guardian’s body carefully as if she was half expecting the machine to have more fight left in it.

Wait a minute! Purah! There was no way Purah didn't know about his situation! This was Purah's way of reuniting him with his friends. Link floated forward. He had to talk, had to say something. They were his friends and they had done what they set out to do here.

He sighed. Audible for the first time in 100 years. "Uh-Uhmmm." He murmured. His voice was quiet and frail. He hadn't used it in so long.

The four Champions were immediately alarmed. "Someone's here," Urbosa said, drawing her scimitar. "Show yourself, you coward," she snarled.

Link was terrified. He had seen her angry, but never at him. But he had to talk. He hadn’t seen them for so long. "I-I'm sorry." His voice was still soft. They seemed to hear something though as the four of them looked around for the sound of his voice.

Relax. He had to relax. Another sigh. It was just like ripping off a band-aid. Link breathed in and out. In and out. He didn't need to breathe, yet it helped to build his confidence. "I'm sorry! I-I really am!" Link had tears in his eyes as he shouted. His form appeared to the four Champions.

Finally, someone could see him and not through him. Nor did they see a malfunctioning machine. "I tried my best to save everyone. But I failed. I failed you guys," he sobbed.

The four Champions stared at the ghost. No-one quite knew what to say. They looked at each other with a mix of concern and awkwardness.

After what seemed like an eternity, Mipha stepped forward. Her face was still as serene and sweet as he remembered. "I'm sure you did your best." She said, her voice calm and patient. "Perhaps you're the reason Purah wished for us to destroy that Guardian. You must have been very important to her."

It was a sucker punch. No, not a sucker punch. It was as if someone stabbed him through the heart with a rusty dagger, painful and raw. She didn't remember him. Oh, Din, she didn't remember him. Seeing her face, listening to her attempts at soothing him. He wanted this moment for years. Yet knowing that she forgot him nearly sent him into hysterics. He wanted to crawl in a hole and die once more.

Stifling his sadness and his frustration, he set his hand out. Mostly ceremonial. Nobody could actually shake it. "You're right. My name is Link, and I was the Hylian Champion a century ago. From now on, I'll tag along with you and help out In whatever way I can, including possessing Guardians. I hope we can all make great memories on our journey to kill Calamity Ganon." He swallowed, pushing his phantom tears away.

The other Champions smiled, aside from Revali of course.

"Pleased to meet ya, little guy!" Daruk shouted. He tried to grip Link's hand only for it to go right through Link's hand. Daruk scratched the back of his neck as he tried to play off his failure. "We're definitely going to kill Ganon this time. So don't worry about it." He gave his signature grin like nothing about the situation phased him.

Urbosa was next. She grinned at the ghost. "Sa'vaq. Pleased to meet you, Link. You'll have to excuse our lack of memories. Being asleep for 100 years apparently does that to you." So she picked up on the fact that he knew them. Unsurprising. Nothing could get past her.

Finally, it was Revali's turn. He grunted and turned away from Link. "There's something about you that irritates me. Could it be that dumb look on your face? Or, perhaps it was something that lingered from before we woke up." Revali swiveled back around with a sigh. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. "Nevertheless, I am willing to push those feelings aside for the sake of a mutual mission. Who knows, maybe you'll even change my mind."

Link's eyes pooled with water. These were his friends. Though they didn't remember him from the past, they didn't reject him. A sense of relief flooded through Link. "You guys," he said quietly.

"Are you going to be this emotional through the entire journey?" Revali asked with a sneer. That question earned him a quick jab from Urbosa's elbow.

And suddenly, the tense atmosphere around Link vanished. As much of a jerk Revali was, He had a way of cleaning the room. Link's airy laughs echoed through the ravine. His emotional state had been completely reset. No longer did all the weight of Hyrule rest on his shoulders. Link didn't have to think about his failures anymore. He was free.

He rose into the air and out of the trench. Link poked his head over the cliff's ledge. "What are you waiting for? Let's go save Hyrule!" And for the first time in around 100 years, Link truly had a reason to smile.


End file.
